EEOC SETTLES RACIAL HARASSMENT SUIT FOR $1.8 MILLION AGAINST APOLLO COLORS OF ILLINOIS

CHICAGO - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today
announced a $1,825,000 settlement of a racial harassment lawsuit on behalf of 32 current and
former African-American employees of Scientific Colors, Inc., doing business as Apollo Colors.
According to the suit, the egregious harassment included racist graffiti, display of hangman's
nooses, and racial epithets at the employer's facility in Rockdale, Ill. Apollo Colors is a
manufacturer of pigments used in printing ink and employs approximately 200 people.

The settlement was entered as a Consent Decree by Judge David McKeague of Michigan
sitting as a visiting judge in the federal district court in Chicago. EEOC filed the lawsuit in
January 2000 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after the failure of attempts to reach a
voluntary pre-litigation settlement with the employer.

"Proactive prevention of employment discrimination is the EEOC's first priority," said
Commission Chair Cari M. Dominguez. "We are pleased that Apollo Colors worked cooperatively
with us to resolve this case and design creative measures to prevent racial harassment."

In addition to the monetary payment and an injunction prohibiting future racial harassment,
the settlement requires the adoption and implementation of preventive discrimination measures at
Apollo Colors. Among these measures are a policy against racial harassment (including camera
monitoring of its facility to prevent racist graffiti), training for managers and employees, and
periodic reporting to EEOC regarding complaints of any racial harassment which persists at the
company.

Ethan Cohen, one of EEOC's trial attorneys in Chicago responsible for the government
litigation, said that the Apollo case was important because it challenged a persistent problem
in many industries engaged in manufacturing and production - harassment in the form of
graffiti. "Racial harassment, including racist graffiti, is no more acceptable in a factory than
at any other place of business. It's illegal, and companies that permit it to continue may be
exposing themselves to costly risks, as this case demonstrates."

EEOC's suit was consolidated with a private case on behalf of other individuals
involving the same issues. The nine individuals who brought the private action were
represented by John Foreman and Christian Spesia of the Joliet, Ill.-based law firm Spesia,
Ayers & Ardaugh.

John C. Hendrickson, Regional Attorney of the agency's Chicago District Office, said:
"EEOC is more than satisfied with the litigation and resolution of this case. We view the
Consent Decree announced today as a significant achievement in terms of both the money -
which will be going to the past victims of harassment - and the measures, which will be
instituted to improve the situation on the factory floor."

In addition to enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits
employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, the EEOC
enforces the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which protects workers 40 and older
from discrimination based on age; the Equal Pay Act; Titles I and V of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in
the private sector and state and local governments; prohibitions against discrimination
affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal government; and sections of the Civil
Rights Act of 1991. Further information about the Commission is available on the agency's
Web site at www.eeoc.gov.